The objectives of the project were: promoting civic engagement among youth and creating a mindset that a career path in the NGO sector is an option; capacity building of the NGO staff/youth workers; development of the youth - skillbuilding, soft skills, employability, practical knowledge; development of human resources suitable for the NGO sector; development of practical, step-by-step guide and games for successful work in the NGO sector; exchange of good practices and know-how. We achieved them by creating a step-by-step guide that addresses the identified skills gaps in NGO staff and youth workers; gamification of the guide, using two distinct approaches, enhancing the capacity and quality of youth work. The LTTA provided youth workers and young NGO professionals with an insight into the work of Icelandic NGOs, emphasizing the incorporation of sustainable development goals, outreach, cooperation with public administrations and strategic planning. Multiplier events and distribution of the games supported NGOs across Europe built common values, provoked civic engagement and participation in youth, educating them for the importance of the NGO work, while instilling essential transversal skills.
The partnership identified a pattern in our countries: -NGOs and youth workers are lacking similar skills (securing funding,presenting their causes,strategic planning,social entrepreneurship,cross-sectoral cooperation,promoting career development and “onboarding” youth in the sector.) -Youngsters and young professionals (trainees,volunteers,employees) are lacking transversal skills (work in a team;interpersonal and communication skills with people at all levels;time managing and prioritizing tasks;meeting deadlines and completing tasks,etc). This lack is felt extremely strong in the sector (due to the nature of our work), but not only. Employers from all industries report difficulties in finding people with the right skills,stressing on the lack of transversal skills.New ways of working and more frequent changes in jobs also call for a broader set of skills. Our response: easy to use tools (guide, gamificated training and a board game) supporting the capacity building of the organizations and training the youth about the most important skills for starting a career in the NGO sector, fighting the youth unemployability. LTTA's primary goal was to provide participants with tools essential to the advancement of their organizations.